Elevation

Chapter 11

When you saw them for the first time after the simulation ended, you should have been revolted... but all you could feel was disbelief.

"That's... them? That's the Byakuya Togami we befriended in the simulation..?"

"Yes." He snorts. "You were informed that there would be physical differences, were you not?"

"Yes, but..." You stare down at them and place your hand on the green glass enclosing their body. "...This is something else entirely."

"Humph. I almost prefer them this way."

"Of course you would say that, Togami..."

"Silence."

"But, it's just...! How did they even get themselves to look that way?"

Togami rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "Plastic surgery, obviously. It's easy to change using that method, among others. Now will you just assist me in getting them out of there?"

You frown and reluctantly turn back to the task at hand. "Fine, fine..."

After the initial shock had worn off, you'd honestly forgotten about how the Super High School Level Imposter had changed. After all, they had been sound asleep - and unanimated - for months, so it was easy to get used to their appearance... As long as they were asleep.

Which is why, you couldn't help gasping after seeing them through the vent cover in the hospital.

There are other people in the room with them, of course, but your eyes are immediately drawn to their figure; so much like the one you remember. Your heart starts pounding furiously and you can feel the anxiety building... You know they haven't really changed, but they just look so much like... her.

Then you realize you've made an audible noise and quickly cover your mouth; luckily, although Ibuki had glanced at your hiding spot, no one else seemed to have realized that you were there. Thank god... You exhale silently and berate yourself. I should be paying better attention... I don't know what they'll do to me if they find me.

Taking a deep breath, you focus your attention on what you can see in the room. Pekoyama, Ibuki, and the Super High School Level Imposter stand gathered around an empty bed in the middle of the room, speaking to one another in harsh whispers. You can only see partially into the room as the vent is not very big, so you're not sure, but it seems as though Tanaka is leaning against the door (you can just see his feet). You can't see Koizumi or Hanamura... you hope they're in the room, at least. It would be bad if they weren't.

...Honestly, though, from what you can see, they all look... Well, very different physically from what you remember in the simulation, of course, but they seem to be working together to talk over something. Which is very unlike Super High School Level Despair. What happened to the Fits of Despair? Do they only have memories from the simulation, unlike the rest of us? Although that hardly makes sense...

You can see Ibuki stomp her foot and you try to listen in on what's being said. "They've gotta be here! Ibuki knows it! Ibuki can sense these things!"

They speak for the first time, and you're relieved to find that their voice is almost the same as you remember it, just a bit higher and lighter. "We can't know that because you can't sense these things, Ibuki. Stop spouting nonsense."

"It is senseless to continue to argue these same points over and over." Pekoyama's hands are clenched as she stares the others down. "Let us go out and search for them... I will cut down anyone in our path."